Stay current
Get river news, FMR updates and event calendars twice a month.
FMR works with public and private landowners, local government agencies and concerned community members — including thousands of volunteers — to protect and restore bluffs, prairies, forests and other lands important to our communities and the health of our metro Mississippi.
Here's what our conservation staff are currently working on and encountering in the field.
Learn more about all our protection and restoration sites at our conservation map, as well as more information about our approach and program.
Conservation updates are also shared on social media (Facebook and Instagram) and in our Mississippi Messages newsletter.
POSTS
November 6, 2026
Newly constructed islands are already providing quality habitat in Pigs Eye Lake. These islands are also the site of an FMR experiment that will help us understand how to create and care for climate-resilient floodplain forest. Read more
October 20, 2026
Not to be underestimated for its size, this 6-acre oak savanna restoration provides visually stunning critical habitat along the Vermillion River. Read more
October 13, 2026
More than 325 species rely on the Mississippi flyway, a migration path stretching along the Mississippi River from the Gulf to the headwaters and beyond. Here in the Twin Cities, we're lucky to live in its midst each spring and fall. Read more
September 23, 2026
This election season, we have a special request for Washington County voters: please spread the word about the importance of voting ‘yes’ for your local environment on Tuesday, November 3. Read more
September 10, 2026
A new stewardship model for parks beloved by committed neighbors: FMR provides technical guidance, but neighbors lead. Read more
September 14, 2026
Anna and Jayden, our summer field ecology interns, helped restore and manage conservation sites, and monitored the impacts our habitat restoration work is having on wildlife. Read more
July 20, 2026
The cold water trout stream and wide floodplain wetlands at the 450-acre Vermillion River Aquatic Management Area (AMA) in Dakota County offer opportunities for angling, hunting, trapping and wildlife observation. Read more
June 29, 2026
Not all thistles we see in Minnesota are non-native and invasive. Here's how you can tell if you're looking at one of our few native thistle species. Read more
June 18, 2026
How can we improve habitat for bumble bees? That's the question our multi-year research project sought to answer. Read more
May 18, 2026
This 7,000-acre network of winding backwaters and lush green islands where the Vermillion meets the Mississippi is one of the largest expanses of floodplain native plant communities in southeast Minnesota. Read more
